A GOOD AGE: IRS imposter phone scam active in Massachusetts

Tuesday

Jul 15, 2014 at 8:37 AMJul 15, 2014 at 10:31 AM

A Patriot Ledger reporter receives the latest IRS imposter telephone scam on her home answering machine. These calls have been widespread in all states. The IRS offers advice on how to handle the attempted fraud.

Sue Scheible The Patriot Ledger @sues_ledger

I came home Saturday to hear the latest IRS imposter telephone scam on my answering machine. At first, it was slightly unnerving.

An automated female voice said: “I need you or your obtained attorney to return the call. The issue at hand is extremely time-sensitive. I am (fake name given) from the Internal Revenue Service and the hotline to my division is (number spoken and then repeated for emphasis). Don’t ignore this message and do return the call, before we take any legal allegation against you. Goodbye and take care.”

Luckily, I had heard about the scam in March, when it was already active in other states. Once I recalled that, I realized it was an attempt to scare me into giving out private personal or financial information to people who would use it for their own gain.

I didn’t call the number on the voice mail but noted that it had a 202 area code, as if it were in Washington, D.C., where the IRS is. The IRS has called it the largest scam of its kind, and thousands of Americans have lost more than $1 million to crooks posing as IRS agents demanding tax payments.

It begins with a call demanding use of a prepaid debit card or a wire transfer to pay a phony tax debt. Refusal brings threats of arrest or deportation or loss of a driver’s license or a business license.

I called the police department in Watertown, where I live. “Everybody’s been getting those calls,” the officer said. “Don’t call. They’re very rude. The IRS won’t be calling you.”

Some reports nationally have said the con artists often know the last four digits of the taxpayer’s Social Security number. The calls are made with spoofed caller identification software that makes it appear the call is originating from the IRS. Some taxpayers also got follow-up calls that appeared to be from their state motor vehicle agency (if a driver’s license was threatened) or the police.

The scammers also sent follow-up emails that mimicked the IRS insignia and even appeared to be signed by real IRS officials. Watertown police said the U.S. Treasury’s inspector general continues to investigate. People who suspect that they’ve been called by an IRS imposter are asked to call the inspector general for tax administration at 800-366-4484.

When I called Monday, an automated message said due to the high volume of impersonation issue calls, people are being asked to go online to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration and click on the red tab for "IRS Impersonation Scam Reporting" to enter their information.

If a taxpayer owes the IRS money, the IRS initially contacts them by U.S. mail, not by phone. And it never asks for payment via debit card or wire transfer, never asks you to provide a credit card number over the phone, and never requests personal or financial information by email, text or social media.

I checked with Lillian Broide of Braintree, who notified me a year ago about fraud in which her Social Security number was stolen and used to open an online account in her nam and then the monthly depositing of her Social Security check was switched to someone else's bank account. She eventually straightened the matter out, but only after much hassle.

“I just heard of another scam,” she said Monday. Her friend received from a call from a man who said the friend’s computer’s Windows operating system was at risk and asked her friend to go to her computer and log on.

The woman refused and called her son, who told her she was right to refuse and that the caller was probably trying to hack into her computer files by finding out her password when she logged on.

The bottom line: don’t give any information out over the phone and don’t open your computer to anyone except your most trusted advisers. If you suspect a scam, contact the local police and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.